


Six Years Late (And Not A Moment Too Soon)

by girlygrl25



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Ash doesn't start his journey with Gary, Ash/Gary slow burn, Delia is very sick, Disillusioned Gary, Gary is still a trainer, M/M, Supportive Delia, Supportive Professor Oak, They are sixteen when the story actually starts, no pikachu, non-canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:02:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28801002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlygrl25/pseuds/girlygrl25
Summary: When a month before he’s set to get his starter Delia collapses, Ash makes the hard decision to pass on his journey. Able to indulge his love of pokemon, and make enough money for their day-to-day expenses, by doing grunt work at Professor Oak’s corral, Ash is resigned to his new lot in life. But, just before his sixteenth birthday, Delia has been in remission for a year and has taken back the reins on her bakery; she, as well as Professor Oak, have tired of seeing Ash’s happy smile hiding the longing in his eyes. So, six years late, Ash is gifted with the one thing he’s always wanted, a pokemon of his own and the start of his own journey.
Relationships: Ookido Shigeru | Gary Oak/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Ookido Yukinari-hakase | Professor Samuel Oak & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 9
Kudos: 73





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank everyone who sent well wishes to me after the last update I posted on my fics. It’s been a horrible few months, but I’m trying to get back into writing. Obviously, this is a new story, but I’m hoping to get back to my other fics eventually. For now, this Ash/Gary fic is my focus as I try to get my creative juices going again.

“Mom!” a small boy yelled, banging through the door and covered in mud. “You’ll never guess what Professor Oak just got in! It was amazing, Mom!”

There was no answer.

“Mom?” he called out again, this time more hesitantly, slowly creeping through the house.

There was a strange heaviness in the air. Normally, even if she didn’t answer, he would have heard her moving about or humming as she worked. Now, there was just an eerie feeling of silence that hung about the house like a shroud. He turned the corner and stepped into the kitchen, only to freeze for a moment that felt like eternity.

“Mom!” he shrieked.

She was there, sprawled across the floor in front of the sink. He ran to her side, falling to his knees. His hands hovered over her prone form, not sure what to do, not wanting to hurt her even more. She looked peaceful, if not for the pallor of her face and the thin trail of blood from a bump on her temple. He paused a moment longer, touching her hand gently, then popped back to his feet and sprinted to the video phone mounted on the living room wall. 

He dialed a familiar number and waited impatiently.

“Ash?” Professor Oak’s face filled the screen, expression going from vaguely curious to worried. “What’s wrong?”

Ash looked at the old man for a long moment, then promptly burst into tears.

At any other time, Ash would have found the professor’s flailing and high pitched voice humorous. But, with his mom unconscious on the kitchen floor, the professor’s fumbling just made him cry more. 

Finally, the professor seemed to realize he wouldn’t be getting any answers from Ash and began to bark out orders. He sent an aide to run to the police station and collected another two to teleport with him to the Ketchum house, thanks to his alakazam. Another aide was sent to watch Gary. The rest of the aides were ordered to continue as normal and to cover the duties of those who were otherwise occupied.

“Ash? Ash, my boy?” The professor called through to the nearly incoherent boy on the other end. “We’ll be right there, ok? Hold on, we’re on the way.”

Ash made a vague noise, hazy eyes barely focusing, even when the professor, two aides, and his alakazam suddenly popped into existence. The professor and an aide headed further into the house, trying to find Delia. The other aide kneeled down in front of Ash, trying to pull him back. 

He had no idea how much time had passed, everything was hazy. All Ash knew was that the door slammed open at one point, Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny running through the living room. Things went from hazy to black as he saw the alakazam floating his mom in the air and he didn’t know any more.

***

He woke to a gentle hand carding through his hair accompanied by the sounds of muffled sobs and indistinct murmurs. 

“Mom?” he said, remembering what had happened and abruptly sitting up.

He sighed in relief, seeing her there in front of him, and collapsed against her in a tight hug. It was feeling her short and choppy breaths against his face that reminded him. Ash pulled back, looking up at her red rimmed eyes. 

“Oh, Ash,” she whispered, running a shaking hand through his hair. “I have some bad news, baby.”

“What?” he asked, voice wavering. When she took a moment to anwer, Ash grabbed her hand. “Please, mom. You’re scaring me.”

Delia took a breath, glancing at the doctor beside them who had stopped talking as soon as Ash had woken. 

“I’m sick, Ash.”

Ash blinked, glancing around. “So, how’s the doctor going to help?”

“That’s the thing, sweetie...we don’t know how much they can help.”

Ash paused, swallowing heavily. “What?”

“I’m really sick, Ash. I don’t know how successful the treatment will be or what it will do to my body...or how much time I’ll have left if it doesn’t work.”

He stilled, a sick feeling rising in him as he started to understand the enormity of the situation. He swallowed back the bile and nodded, leaning against Delia. He let himself fall into his own thoughts, knowing he wouldn’t have anything to contribute to the discussion going on above him.

Four hours later they were home again, and Ash knew what he had to do.

***

“Professor Oak? I’d like to apply for the ranch hand position you posted last week.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the positive response to this fic! I’m really trying to get back into writing after a horrible year, and your support means so much.   
> I think I know what pokemon I want Ash to have here, but feel free to give me suggestions! I may end up incorporating them :-)

Ash was hauling the wheelbarrow out to the field to feed the pokemon when there was a wave of cheers out on the street.

“Sounds like Gary’s back,” he muttered to the pichu on his shoulder. 

The small pokemon perked up. It chittered at him a moment, then jumped from his shoulder to dash to the lab. A rueful smile twisted Ash’s lips.

“Wonder where he went this time.” Ash sighed, gazing out at the pokemon he helped care for. “I hope it was somewhere far away, someplace completely different from Kanto.” He gazed back at the lab for a long moment, petting the spiky head of a rhyhorn. “He seemed sad last time he came home.”

The rhyhorn huffed, scooping up another mouthful of food, making Ash laugh a little. 

“Thanks for listening, buddy,” he said, tone happy and light.

Any relaxation he had managed to find vanished in an instant as he heard the other teenager’s strident voice echoing into the paddock out back. He knew what was coming next. It had been the same song and dance since Gary left on his journey when they were ten and Ash didn’t, five years before. Every time the Tournament season ended in March, Gary returned, more egotistical, more angry, more bored...more sad. He would return the first week of March and stay two to three weeks, depending on how long he could stand being in the small town, then disappear to another region until the following March. Those two to three weeks, though, would be filled with scorn and harsh words for everything around him, especially Ash.

Ash, who was meant to have been his rival. Ash, whose dream to be the greatest Pokemon Master ever had conflicted with Gary’s and tore apart the only true friendship either of them had ever had. Ash, who had never even left Pallet Town, or gotten a starter despite his surprisingly good grades and the Professor’s sponsorship that should have guaranteed it. 

At ten, Gary hadn’t been able to understand that staying and taking a job at the ranch was the only way he could help his mother. At sixteen, Gary still didn’t understand how staying could have even been an option, especially with the reward money being a trainer could bring in; he easily forgot that newbie trainers their first few years rarely made enough to support themselves, let alone the medical bills Delia had racked up. And so, his inability to comprehend Ash’s decision to give up his dreams - the last thing tying them together - had begun lashing out the first time they saw each other again. And it never ended.

“Well, well,” came Gary’s drawling voice. “If it isn’t Ashy-boy, here in his natural habitat: scooping the filth as a day-laborer.”

“Welcome back, Gary,” Ash returned mildly. He had learned quickly how to rein in and control his hot temper when one too many outbursts had startled a herd of tauros and nearly gotten him and a dozen other pokemon flattened. “How was your season? Hoenn, was it?”

Gary scoffed, walking towards him, chest puffed and head high. His designer jeans and stylish loafers didn’t seem to fit in with the wildness of the ranch, which was designed to be peaceful and natural for the pokemon being housed and studied. It was especially a stark contrast to Ash’s own attire of dirty, frayed jeans and worn in steel-toed boots.

“Do you not listen at all? I did Hoenn last year. This season was Galar, obviously.”

“Of course,” Ash murmured, turning to grasp the wheelbarrow. The pokemon in this sector had finished and he didn’t want to get behind. “Well, your pokemon tend to hang out in Sector 4, over there past the hill,” he continued, nodding towards it.

Gary blinked, shoulders slumping a bit, though Ash didn’t notice. “That’s it?”

Ash paused and looked over his shoulder at his once friend. Gary quickly corrected his stance, oozing arrogance yet again.

“What do you mean? Why else would you be back here except to see them? Besides, I have work to do.”

Gary spluttered for a moment, staring into Ash’s bored eyes. “O-obviously! Why else would I hang around you? Go take a shower or something! You stink,” he finished, sounding more like he was ten again, and stomped off towards the hill that bordered Sector 4.

Ash stared after Gary another moment, not quite sure what happened, then shrugged. He was pretty sure he had figured out why Gary hated him now, but it didn’t mean he understood the other teenager at all. Besides, he hadn’t been lying: he did have work to do.

His work was tiring, dirty, and physically difficult. Every morning, he rose before the sun to trudge down to the professor’s lab and carry the food out to the hundreds of pokemon that called it home. There were designated areas for the pokemon to relieve themselves, and cleaning those was his next task; like feeding, this required him to haul a great deal in the wheelbarrow and walk across the entire paddock multiple times to ensure the pokemon stayed healthy. After that, he actually had a good break to grab some food. The professor even let him play with the pokemon, or read some of his books, or watch one of the many experiments happening in the lab itself until it was time for the afternoon feed. After the afternoon feed, Ash was set to helping some of the injured pokemon with physical rehabilitation. Then it was time to clean the paddock again, then the nightly feed and Ash was done a few hours after sundown. 

It was a long day, and most of it was tedious work that he knew had to be done. In no way was it anything like he would be doing at his age years ago, before his mother’s diagnosis, but it was a living, and kept them in the black. Ash refused to acknowledge the still burning desire to have a pokemon of his own, to travel and battle. He was content and he was there for his mother, which was all he could really ask for. 

“Ash, my boy!” 

He had just finished up, wheeling the now empty wheelbarrow back to the storage shed to take his lunch break, when he heard the professor’s call. 

“Professor?” 

Ash knocked his boots outside the open doorway, sticking his head through. The professor was in the kitchen, easily seen from where he was standing, Gary next to him. Ash blinked, he hadn’t even registered that the other teenager had come inside.

“I just finished and was about to go clean up, do you need me to do something before lunch?” Ash continued.

“No, no. I was actually going to give you the afternoon off!” Professor Oak said jovially.

Ash blinked. “Off?”

“Indeed! Your mother and I thought you might like to have the afternoon free to spend some time with her!”

Ash tilted his head and said “okay?” slowly. 

It wasn’t unusual for the professor to give him some time off. There were enough aides that one or two of them could be reassigned for an evening or morning. But, it usually only happened when Delia was especially weak or having a bad reaction to a new treatment. Ash knew though that Delia was fine. She hadn’t had a new treatment in nearly six months, and had just seen her doctor in Viridian two weeks before and everything looked fine. 

“Oh stop giving me those eyes, my boy,” the professor said, a sour expression on his face. “We can do something nice for you without any ulterior motives.”

“Really, Ashy-boy,” Gary drawled, ignoring the disapproving look on his grandfather’s face. “I would have thought you’d enjoy not playing in the muck for an evening.”

“If you’re sure, Professor,” Ash said, completely ignoring Gary and making the other boy glare and face red from being dismissed.

“Go on, my boy!” the professor replied. “Besides, your mother may have a surprise waiting for you.”

Ash blinked, bemused, but nodded all the same. “See you tomorrow, then?”

“No worries, Ash. I suspect you’ll want tomorrow off as well,” the professor answered with a sneaky look on his face.

Ash and Gary traded exasperated looks. Once Gary realized it, though, he quickly fixed his face and went back to looking arrogantly bored, making Ash roll his eyes.

“Whatever you say, Professor,” Ash said, deciding not to worry about it.

“Oh!” the professor exclaimed, rummaging in his pockets. “Delia would have my hide if I forgot this,” he said, pulling out a small box, which he tossed to Ash. “Don’t open that now, wait ‘til your mother says you can.”

Ash’s eyebrows furrowed. It wasn’t his birthday, which was a good two months away, but the professor didn’t seem willing to share and Gary obviously had no idea. So, he nodded, and tucked it away in his pocket. His mom won’t leave him in the dark for long and there was obviously no use asking about it now. So, he just nodded at the two Oaks, thanking the professor quietly, and left. 

Thanks to the small town, Ash got home quickly. He stopped just inside the door, carefully toeing off his boots and pulling off not only his jacket, but his pants, socks, and top too, to drop them all in a pile, heavily soiled due to his day’s work. He padded though the living room to the stairs, only wearing his boxers, to dart upstairs to shower. It was his daily ritual - come home quietly and leave the worst at the door so he didn’t track whatever was on him through the house. Be quiet as he headed upstairs to shower, in case Delia was resting. Normally, he was home late, after she already ate and went to bed, so he would then make something that could be refrigerated and eaten on for a few days. 

But, he was early for once, and might actually get to spend some real time with her, he realized as he left his room - clean and clothed again. He could hear her downstairs in the kitchen. Her happy humming and the light clanging of dishes and cookware took him back to when he was young and she wasn’t sick. A nice memory, before everything came crashing down. 

“Mom?” he greeted her softly, kissing her on the cheek as he passed to get some water. 

“You’re already home!” Delia replied happily, barely pausing in her baking as she went.

“Professor Oak let me go, he said you wanted me home?” he trailed off, voice lilting.

Delia nodded, humming happily. “Go ahead and sit, Ashy. There’s some casserole that I just pulled from the oven on the table. Give it a few minutes before you start eating - I don’t want you to burn yourself!” she called over her shoulder, Ash grunting back at her. “I’ll be there soon.”

Ash followed directions, sitting and looking at the delicious-smelling casserole still steaming. It had taken a long time for Delia to feel well enough to cook, though it had been happening more and more in the last few months. 

“Dig in!” Delia said, bustling out of the kitchen with a couple of plates and spoons, placing a set in front of her son.

“Thanks,” Ash said, scooping a large portion out and handing the plate over to Delia first. “So, what strings did you pull today?”

“I don’t know what you mean, dear,” Delia said with an innocent smile.

Ash just gave a deadpanned look, causing her to laugh.

“Wait until after lunch, Ash. You have plenty of time. Samuel gave you tomorrow off too, right?”

Ash huffed. “You know I hate it when you two conspire against me.”

Delia just laughed at him, and turned back to her meal. “There’s no rush. And you’ll be glad for the surprise when we get there.”

Ash just grumbled at her, before getting distracted by his mother’s amazing food. When he looked up again ten minutes later, trying to decide between being done and getting another helping, there were two things on the table in front of him. 

The small box Professor Oak had given him to take home and a pokeball.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! This one’s a bit short, but I wanted to get it out to you.
> 
> Info for this chapter - trainers can get a license starting at 10 years old. This license has to be renewed every year in order to allow them to continue owning pokemon. If it lapses, it’s a lot of paperwork and money to re-activate it. Basically, there has to be a certain amount of interaction with pokemon (not necessarily ones that belong to you) and no infractions (like abuse) to keep it active. Most people think that you have to do a certain number of official events (gym battles, etc) but that’s only to stay active in the circuit, not to keep the license. Ash did graduate from his last year and got his license, but didn’t bother to keep it up since he didn’t have a pokemon of his own.

“What?” Ash breathed out, looking at the pokeball incredulously. 

The subtle glow to the button indicated that there was actually a pokemon registered to it, that it wasn’t just a blank ball. 

“Mom?” he looked at her wildly. “What?”

She looked back at him with a serene smile. “What do you mean, Ash?”

Ash took a shuddering breath. “A pokemon?”

“It’s about time, don’t you think?”

“But,” he paused, breath shuddering. “My license - it’s expired.”

“No it isn’t,” she said calmly. His look prompted her to continue. “Samuel did me a favor.”

“What kind of favor?” he asked, voice hoarse, eyes still locked on the ‘ball.

“Your license never expired. I’ve known you wanted to be a trainer since you were two and so fascinated with pokemon. My illness has kept you from it for too long. So, I asked Samuel years ago if he could count your help at the ranch as contact with pokemon in order keep your license from lapsing.”

“But they weren’t mine?”

Delia was already shaking her head. “Doesn’t matter.”

“I’ve never done a gym challenge?”

Delia was still shaking her head gently. “That just means that you’re not registered for the League circuit. Your license is current. The next season starts in about a month.” 

She reached out and took the ‘ball in her hand, holding it out to Ash. He shakily reached out, letting her drop it into his grasp.

“You have time to decide what you want to do, Ash. But whatever you decide, he’s yours now. Train him well.”

“Him?” Ash breathed, eyes locked on the ‘ball.

Delia smiled, but jerked back a little in surprise when Ash suddenly straightened and turned to her.

“You’re still sick! I can’t-” he tried to hand it back to her, but she just pushed his hands to his chest. 

“You can,” she said firmly. “Yes, I’m sick. I will likely always be sick. But that doesn’t mean your life should end. I am in remission, I have been for almost a year. I can work again, and cut back on employees to save money. And Samuel can help me with anything else.”

“I can send you money...” he said slowly.

“No,” Delia’s voice was sharp, making Ash recoil. She softened, but stayed firm, “keep your prize money, Ash. Your first few years on the circuit will be difficult. You’ll need far more supplies than you think. You will need all of your money just to survive, especially as I won’t be able to help you much,” she ended.

That was one of the things that had pained her, along with denying him his first journey at 10, though it had been his choice. As the bills skyrocketed, and she had to stop working herself and hire more employees for her bakery, he had offered his Journey Fund to help. The Journey Fund she had started as soon as she’d found out she was pregnant. It was meant to be some padding for her baby when he left; just some extra money so that he wasn’t in danger of running out as he learned how to train and battle. Most parents did, in the expectation of their child going on that trip of self-discovery. 

Ash finally nodded. He would transfer some to her anyway, but only when he really could afford it, he decided. 

That thought made him pause as he realized...he had already decided, hadn’t he?

“Mom, be honest with me, please,” he said. He met her eyes as she nodded slowly in return. “Are you really ok if I go? Will you tell me if something happens, even if it means I come back early? Can you do that?”

Delia sat for a moment, considering. “If I say yes, and promise to call you if I really do need you...can you promise not to come running home everything you think I need something? Can you wait until I -”

“Or Professor Oak,” he interrupted.

“-or Professor Oak, call and tell you that you need to come home?”

Like Delia, Ash considered it for a moment, then nodded. “If you will promise me to actually tell me, then yes.”

Delia clapped, startling Ash again. “Well, now that that’s settled. Meet your starter, Ashy.”

Ash blinked and looked down at the ‘ball in his hand. “My starter.”

Delia suppressed a laugh, knowing that her son had never thought he’d actually have this. “Happy birthday, Ash. I know it’s a couple of months early, but Samuel got this little guy in and we thought he was perfect for you.”

“Professor Oak gave him to you?”

“Professor Oak gave him to you, Ash. Now, let him out to meet him!”

Ash took a deep breath, stood up, then clicked the button. As the glow turned from barely there to a brilliant white, he tossed it into the air. He watched with wide eyes as the pokeball spun in the air and split open, condensed light emanating from it in a ray to hit the floor in front of him.

“An applin?” he said, awe clear in his voice.

Ash sat on the ground, eyes trained on the tiny apple pokemon in front of him. He didn’t know much about them, other than their rare grass/dragon typing, but he knew that would be the first thing to research once he got back to the lab.

“Hi, buddy,” he said quietly, reaching out a hand and waiting. “My name’s Ash.”

The pokemon hesitated, then bounced in place before happily bouncing forward, past his hand, and directly onto his lap. 

“Oh!” Ash laughed. “Hello, there.”

The applin gazed up at him, then hopped in a circle. Ash blinked down at him, then smiled as he stilled, realizing that the pokemon was getting comfortable and taking in his scent. 

“Use this,” Delia whispered, holding out the little box from Professor Oak.

Ash tilted his head, and took it, being careful not to disturb the pokemon on his lap. The ribbon fell off easily, and a small red machine fell onto his hand. He held the pokedex gently in one hand, while the other scrubbed away tears before they could fall. He had given up his dream years ago, and this was all so overwhelming. 

Delia gently rubbed his shoulders, as he collected himself.

Ash smiled up at her, and straightened. He flipped open the pokedex, which lit up immediately. He was familiar enough with the machine to know that it was a newer edition, too. After it loaded, he held the screen up to his face, letting it scan him. He said his name clearly, though low, for the vocal recognition to activate. Then, he put it to the side, letting the device scan the League registry to locate his license and information.

“Mom,” Ash said, voice shaking as much as the hand he held out to lightly pet the pokemon soundly sleeping. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”


End file.
